Rome, record revenues from fines reinvested in safety (but accidents are growing)

THE FOCUS

It would be too simple to reduce road safety to just taking care of potholes or fixing pavements. A mix of factors affects accidents: distracted driving (or being under the influence of alcohol or drugs), for example, are among the main causes. But the interventions that can be made on infrastructures and which can improve the lives of motorists, motorcyclists and pedestrians are never enough. Suffice it to say that the Capital has a record: it is the Italian city that in 2023 collected 172 million euros thanks to traffic fines, 39.5 million more than in 2023. And of this sum a good part must go – by law – precisely on safety policies: almost 70 million were allocated to compliance, maintenance, modernization, signage and education in schools. In addition, there are municipal, Pnrr and Jubilee funds. A major intervention, essentially.

THE SURVEY

But there is a “paradox”, as Codacons defines it: more money is pouring in from fines but accidents are increasing. The consumer association has published a study carried out on the reporting of the Ministry of the Interior and based on the data that local authorities must provide by 31 May of each year, referring to the sums actually collected by local administrations through road fines and their usage. Well, collections increased by 29.7% in just one year: 165 million euros from ordinary fines, 7.5 million from those that motorists found themselves in the letterbox because they pressed their foot a little too hard on the accelerator in front of the speed camera. «A paradox then emerges from the data – denounces Codacons – Last year the Municipality in fact invested a total of 20,952,489 euros for the “Strengthening of control and verification activities of violations in the field of road traffic”, but the accidents in the city they increased, to the point that in 2023 193 deaths were recorded on the streets of the capital, 28% more than in 2022, almost 12 thousand accidents and as many as 15 thousand injuries”.

URBAN AREAS

At the wheel, even in urban and busy areas, you can race without paying much attention to unexpected events. There are many distractions. And then the unmaintained trees, the roads and their potholes, the intersections full of traffic and with cars parked in double rows that make it impossible to pass between streets and intersections. «The situation on the road safety front in the Capital is disastrous – attacks President Carlo Rienzi – It is absurd that in the face of such huge allocations by Rome Capital, accidents are on the dangerous increase and the roads are increasingly a Wild West where traffic reigns chaotic, cars perpetually in double rows and vehicles parked wildly. For this reason we have decided to present a complaint to the Court of Auditors of Lazio, asking it to verify whether the use of proceeds from traffic fines by the municipality is appropriate and how the administration has spent the money intended for strengthening control activities” .

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